This invention relates to a receptacle holder of the type supported on a ladder rail or rung and in particular a receptacle holder which is secured to a ladder.
It has been pointed out that devices of this type are of utility to painters, window washers, carpenters, fruit pickers and others who desire or need a receptacle held in some position handy to their work. The principal object of receptacle holders is to place a receptacle at or near a work area and to insure that the contents of the receptacle will not spill.
Heretofore, several receptacle holders have been patented, however each of these devices lack critical features. In the first place they are limited to a particular type structure on which they attach. And secondly, they do not provide a positive type securing device.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a receptacle holder that can be secured to different structures.
A study was made of the patented art relative to the present invention and the following listed patents are of interest:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,102,078 issued to Kemp
U.S. Pat. No. 2,308,805 issued to Dahl
U.S. Pat. No. 2,453,670 issued to Persson
U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,756 issued to Sitek
U.S. Pat. No. 2,634,937 issued to Welsh
U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,776 issued to Cook
U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,759 issued to Close
U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,388 issued to Golden
U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,131 issued to Francis
The Persson patent is directed to a receptacle support with a hook to hang the support on a ladder rung. Persson provides a clamp with a movable jaw on a threaded member to grip the side wall of a receptacle. Other patents which show a receptacle holder with a clamp to grip the wall of a receptacle are Dahl, Close and Cook.
A feature of interest to the present invention is shown in the patents to Dahl, Welsh and Close where the receptacle support is hung from a ladder rail with the receptacle on the outside of the ladder to provide easier access. Dahl uses a hook to engage a rung and an L-shape member attached to the hook to wrap around a rail. Welsh shows a pair of L-shaped members that are spring biased together to partially wrap around a rail. In Close, the support has a U-shaped end which wraps around a rail using the weight of the receptacle to hold the support in place. These patents lack a security means to prevent the receptacle holder from losing its holding force and spilling the contents of the receptacle.
There are two patents which teach a tether for holding a support on a ladder. The Francis patent uses a flexible tether with a snap hook which is fastened to the tether after it has been wrapped around a rung. Golden uses a similar tether and snap hook to connect a support to a ladder rung. The tethers of the Francis and Golden patents are not applicable to the present invention, which will become apparent in the disclosure.